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About

CATHERINE R. HOFFMAN

I like to think I fill many roles.

I am a scientist: I recently completed by Masters in Zoology at the University of British Columbia. I studied the role of ecology in the evolution of sociality and range limits of group-living species. For my Masters, I got to travel to Ecuador to conduct research on the social spiders. This experience taught me a lot about what the scientific process is (and isn’t) and what researchers do everyday. Learn more about my research lab here.

Nerd Nite Vancouver October 2014. Photo by Lindsay’s Diet

I am a communicator: I love to tell scientific stories. I volunteer at museums as an interpreter, visit classrooms, and give talks. Communications is a two-way process and I like to open up a conversation about science with the public.

Interpreting at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum (Vancouver, BC)

I am a teacher: Whether in a formal classroom or during informal settings, I see myself as a teacher that combines my roles as a scientist and communicator to help people learn new things.

I am a normal person: I put this because blogs often only show one side of a person, but I like lots of things! Hockey, music, photography, beauty, fashion, humour, pop culture and more.

Why is your blog called “Public Goods”?: A public good is a product that any individual can consume without reducing the availability of the product for other individuals. No one is excluded for using the product. With that being said, I see scientific research, knowledge, and discovery as public goods. I hope that through my blog I can encourage researchers to share their public goods and that I can showcase these goods to the public.